Iconic Making Of Doc Film ‘Hearts of Darkness’ 4K Restoration Trailer
by Alex Billington
May 25, 2025
Source: YouTube
“It’s scary to watch someone you love confront failure…” Studiocanal has revealed an official trailer for the 4K restoration re-release of Hearts of Darkness, an iconic cinema documentary film about the making of a masterpiece. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse originally premiere at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and set a high bar for making of docs. It is a remarkably honest chronicle of the endless production problems — including bad weather, actors’ health & complaints, war near the filming locations, and so much more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola. Newly restored in stunning 4K with artwork from acclaimed artist Akiko Stehrenberger (seen below). Filmed and narrated by Eleanor Coppola documenting the production of the 1979 epic Apocalypse Now – plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems. This doc is so famous because it’s not very positive, it’s a harsh inside look at how crazy film shoots can really be, even if you end up making an all-timer. A tale of descending into the heart of darkness just to make a movie.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for the new 4K re-release of Hearts of Darkness, from YouTube:
In the late 1970s, celebrated director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Conversation) and his cast, crew & family ventured into the jungles of the Philippines to begin work on what would eventually become his masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. The journey from page to screen soon spiraled into a hellish, life-threatening nightmare echoing the film’s narrative. Plagued with adversity, one of the most influential films ever made had one of the most notorious film shoots in cinema history that few survived unscathed. Hearts of Darkness is directed by filmmakers Fax Bahr (screenwriter of Son in Law, In the Army Now, Malibu’s Most Wanted) & George Hickenlooper (later of Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City Texas, Dogtown, Factory Girl, Casino Jack). With footage from Eleanor Coppola. Produced by Les Mayfield and George Zaloom. This originally premiered at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival years ago. This new 4K restoration will premiere at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna this June. Studiocanal will then re-release the doc in theaters + as a special Blu-ray box set available to order here. The 4K UHD Collector’s Edition includes a 64-page booklet with essays, 2 new posters and Eleanor Coppola’s Notes book.
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